Be prepared

Note to self: when buying a can of beans to make into part of dinner, make sure that your new apartment has the use of a can opener.

Infamous Potato Salad

Infamous Potato Salad:

2 lb potatoes (I've used both red and russet potatoes for this, and both work well.)
12 oz bacon
1 onion
A few sprigs fresh cilantro (or parsley)
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup mustard (yellow is fine, dijon or other tasty mustard even better)
1/4 cup ranch dressing
1 pinch salt
1 shake black pepper

Peel and cube potatoes, cover with water in a pot, and heat to a boil. Once boiling, cover and simmer 15 minutes until soft.

While potatoes are cooking, fry bacon. While bacon is frying, cut up onion and cilantro and set aside (separate). When bacon is crispy, remove it from the pan and set to drain on a wire rack.  Fry the chopped onion in the bacon grease: I like it to be black and crumbly.

When the potatoes are soft, drain the water. Cut or crumble up the bacon and add, with the cilantro and onion, to the potatoes. Whip together mayo, mustard, ranch, salt, and pepper and toss everything together until well coated and mixed.

Chill an hour and serve. Makes about 8 servings.

Monday crockery

So I have no idea how tonight's recipe will go... and since we've got a long rehearsal beforehand, the possibility of utter disaster will make success that much sweeter!

Ahem. Anyway:

Boneless Ribs a la Huckleberry

In a barrel of odds and ends it is different; things get mixed up, and the juice kind of swaps around, and the things go better.

1 pkg boneless pork ribs (~1.5 lb)
1 onion
radishes (maybe 10)
2 or more parsnips
1 clove garlic
1/2 cup dry sherry or madeira
1 tbsp capers

Lay the ribs at the bottom of the crock pot. Peel the parsnips and cut them into two-inch strips. Slice the radishes so that the slices are no more than 1 cm thick. Chop up the garlic. Add all the veggies to the pot on top of the ribs, and pour the sherry on top of it all. Cook on low 6-7 hours.

Pictures to follow.

Monday crockery

I've really got to start taking photos before tucking in on Monday nights.

So we've got an ongoing crock-pot night, mostly because Monday night is chorus night. Tonight, I opened up and improvised. No recipe.

3 PM:
4 chicken thighs (or breasts I suppose)
2 russet potatoes
2 tbsp chili sauce
1/4 cup milk or coconut milk
ground black pepper

Place potatoes into bottom of crock pot. Pour milk and chili sauce into a mixing bowl and mix thoroughly. Dunk chicken into chili mixture, then arrange chicken on top of potatoes. Pour any remaining chili milk over, cover, and set crockpot to low.

9 PM:
1 head chopped fresh or frozen broccoli
1/4 cup shredded cheddar
Water for steaming

Steam broccoli. When cooked, sprinkle cheese over and melt.

Beverage pairings: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.

Stout chili

Big Game Chili:
Dice one yellow onion and three cloves garlic, and brown with 2 lb ground beef. Drain fat, then put the meat into crock pot. Add one large (28 oz) can diced tomatoes, one regular size can of chili beans (as hot as you can stand), two anaheim peppers cut into loops, and 12 oz dark beer (such as porter or stout).
Stir in 1 tablespoon each chili powder, cayenne pepper, black pepper, and cumin powder. I also like to shake in some Tony Chacheres too.
Cook on high for 3-4 hours. Serve at Big Game Watch.

Drumstick au vin

You're gonna be out in a tuxedo until 11. And no cocktail weenies either. What do you do?
Well, if you're me today, you find a ziploc of chicken drumsticks in the freezer and make chicken au vin:
2 lb bone-in chicken
1 cup chicken stock or bouillon
1/2 cup red wine
2 healthy squeezes ketchup
Spices and seasonings to taste: whole peppercorns, ground black pepper, thyme, rosemary, garlic.
Mix stock, wine, and spices in a bowl. Place chicken in crock pot. Pour liquid mix over chicken. Cook in crock pot on low for 6-8 hours.
Serve over noodles. Beverage pairing: dark beer, such as brown ale or rye porter.
Idea for next time: use those gigantic turkey drumsticks I see at Kroger.

Pumpkin Pancakes

Got a half a can of store brand pumpkin in the mix, and also someone (cough cough Ms Heelfilcher) came up with the idea of moistening the batter with cider.







Update: FUCKIN TASTY, MAAAAAN

Wednesday evening vegetarian experiment

Ms Heel-Filcher requested vegetarian tonight. Well, not actually, but she said something this morning about wanting to try to make more meals meatless, and simultaneously asked me to make dinner tonight. You do the math.

Anyways, I decided to wing something. It ended up OK, but I have no idea what to call it. Suggestions welcome.